


Play Pretend

by razielim



Series: Merry Smutmas 2016 [11]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Goody Two Shoes Jason, I promise I really tried to dodge every HS AU cliche I know of, Loss of Innocence, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Minimal amount of schoolwork in narrative, No one daydreams about each other in class, No one tries to pass notes in class, People don't keep diaries or scribble each other's names in margins, Punk Percy, Underage Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:17:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8945044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/razielim/pseuds/razielim
Summary: Jason is a model student and a perfect son. Or, he's trying to be those things, but it's chipping away at his emotional stability. So perhaps he wasn't really thinking clearly when he asked Jackson, the class punk and delinquent, to help him get his parents off his back.





	1. Tuesday

Honestly, the last thing he remembered clearly was the back of Ms. Athena’s head as she walked towards the front of the classroom. He’d been staring at it-

Staring at it, and then-

His head hurt. So did his shoulder. Mostly, and most prominently, though, he just didn’t want to open his eyes. His lids felt heavy and he chalked it up to staying up too late last night, studying for his Chem test.

Jason groaned to voice his displeasure at being woken so soon, and twisted to bury his face in the pillow. The tired burn in his eyes lessened at the pressure and he cradled the scratchy and only barely acceptably soft pillow closer.

His pillow wasn’t scratchy.

Confused, he opened an eye to investigate. The wrongness of the room immediately apparent, he sat up. His head swam.

“Jason, you all right?” came the gentle voice of the school nurse as she rolled over to him, not getting up from her desk chair.

“I think so.”

“I’ve called your parents, and they’ll be here soon. Do you think you could you drink something?”

“What happened?”

The nurse smiled and patted his hand.

“You fainted in Ms. Athena’s Lit class. Do you remember that?”

“No,” Jason said, struggling with his brain to register any memory of falling. “I remember being in her class. She just gave me my test back.”

“Do you remember walking over here?”

“I thought I fainted?”

The nurse rolled over to the other corner and picked up a juice box. Her name was Mrs. Juniper, Jason finally remembered. He’d never been to the school nurse before.

Rolling back to hand him the juice, Mrs. Juniper explained in her soft voice.

“That’s right. You fainted- and lucky you were in your desk and your classmates caught you before you slipped out of your seat completely- but people don’t stay unconscious for long periods after fainting. You were walking around, answering questions. Not making a lot of sense, mind you, but with a little help from Ms. Athena and Jackson, you got to my office on your own two feet.”

“Oh.”

Jason took a sip of the juice when it was proffered to him, straw already poked through. It was weird to be told what he’d done without any memory of having done it.

“Now,” Mrs. Juniper continued. “When you came in, you said you didn’t want to go to the ER. You kept saying that it was fine. Are you sure you still do not want to get further medical attention?”

Jason stared at her.

“Should I?”

“Fainting is very common for adolescents, Jason. Stress, skipping breakfast- they can all lead to fainting. But if you remember feeling unwell beforehand, it’s better to have a doctor take a look at you. They could do an electrocardiogram, do some bloodwork, see if maybe there was an underlying cause-”

Jason was already shaking his head. He didn’t need any of that.

“I’m fine. I think I was just stressed out because-”

Jason remembered the big fat C on the test paper. _“I’m disappointed in you, Jason,”_ had been written in Ms. Athena’s loopy red cursive just under it.

“Because I’ve never gotten a bad grade before.”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“I've already booked you an appointment for eight thirty tomorrow- I was trying to explain to the receptionist that we need an earlier appointment so you don't miss any of your Government class, but-”

His mom hadn't stopped talking since they'd signed him out, except to hear his answer about how his Chem test had gone. Jason was trying his best not to listen but couldn't seem to tune her out. Years of trying not to miss any of her questions had him too well trained to sink into his own thoughts.

“Did you get your Lit test back, son?” Dad’s voice cut through a pause in Mom’s story.

“Yes.”

“Did you have the top grade?”

“No.”

“Who beat you?”

Jason wanted to spin himself into a cocoon and never crawl out.

“Um… Annabeth?”

“Did you do the extra credit?”

Jason did. Obviously, it hadn't helped. He wondered where he had gone so wrong in his essays that even answering the extra credit didn't help.

“Son? What did you get?”

He wanted to go through it and read Ms. Athena’s comments, but the test must have been left behind in the classroom when he'd been taken to the nurse’s office.

“I got a C.”

There was silence. After a few moments, Mom reached out to turn the music that had been playing quietly the rest of the way down.

“Jason, you've never gotten a C before,” she murmured. Then, with a tinge of rising hysteria, “You've never even gotten a B!”

Jason stayed quiet.

“Can you make up the test somehow? Is there an extra credit assignment you can do?”

“I didn't get a chance to ask.”

“Jason! This could drag down your whole grade! Not to mention that your teachers won't take you seriously if you don't show a willingness to work for your success. Tomorrow, first chance you get, you _must_ go talk to Ms. Athena. Tell her that you studied really hard and that you are _absolutely_ willing to do any extra assignments she can give you to understand the material better.”

“I will.”

“No one remembers the salutatorian, Jason,” his dad added helpfully, and Jason tried to swallow down the nausea that swelled up at the reminder.

“Maybe I’m not cut out to be valedictorian.”

“Jason.” The name rode out of his dad’s mouth on a sigh that sounded all but disgusted. “You’ve always wanted to be perfect at everything. This, son, is how you get there. You work really hard.”

“I don’t want to be perfect! I just want to be good!”

“And what, Jason? You’re just going to slack off and let opportunities pass you by? This is an investment into a perfect future, Jason. By being the best now, you’re going to be the best later.”

Jason’s eyes felt hot and he tucked his chin against his shoulder, soaking a tear into the fabric of his hoodie before either of his parents could see it.

“I’m not perfect, though.”

“Sure you are, son.”

“I’m gay.”

Jason wished he’d shouted it. He didn’t want it to be a confession; he wanted it to be a knife and a shield in this awful conversation.

His mother’s question was choked on a half strangled chuckle.

“What, honey?”

“I’m gay,” he repeated again, and put some venom into it, letting it snarl.

“No, you’re not,” his dad said, and this time his sigh sounded so tired, so exhausted, that Jason felt guilty all over again.

“I am.”

His mom placed her hand on her husband's arm.

“Honey, this must be why he’s been so stressed. Don’t make it harder than it  has to be.” Then she turned in her seat and gave him a smile- frail and appeasing.

“It’s alright, honey. Your father and I love you no matter what. Don’t you ever worry about that- just focus on your studies. Alright?”

Her eyes were shining with earnestness, but it felt like a farce. Jason sighed.

“Alright.”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

It was only three in the afternoon when they got home. After he came out, his mom had spent the rest of the ride talking about his cousin’s wedding next weekend. It stung. Why talk about it then? Why didn’t she even ask anything about his orientation?

He didn’t care.

He refused to care.

One look at his desk with its neatly organized notebooks, tabbed worksheets, and color coded planner, and he felt about ready to hyperventilate.

He could sit down to work.

He _could_.

Once he really got into an assignment, that constant feeling of being trapped, of walls caving in, it went away.

Not today.

Shucking off his sweatshirt, Jason let himself trip over the foot of his bed and fall. He could do it another day. Today, he was escaping into sleep.


	2. Wednesday

“I need to check in- I have a doctor’s note?”

“Sure, I’ll take that, and if you could just fill _this_ out- yes.”

Jason scribbled in his information quickly, eager to get to class as soon as possible. He woke up this morning hungry, dehydrated, and horribly anxious about missing his last block yesterday and going to bed without doing any homework. Actually, there was a whole laundry list of things he was anxious about today, one of them being that he’d already missed thirty two minutes of Gov and counting.

The secretary, however, had wandered off into the back room with his doctor’s note and was laughing with one of the other main office staff.

A couple extra minutes wouldn’t hurt.

Hopefully.

He looked around and immediately made eye contact with Jackson, who was sitting in one of the chairs along the windows. He looked away, then realized that Jackson was still staring and probably had been before Jason had noticed him. He looked back and gave a smile.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Jackson all but drawled, a huge grin following the word.

“What are you in for this time?”

“Snapping rubber bands at Mr. D. You feeling any better today?”

“Oh. Yeah, guess you saw the whole thing?”

“Helped you get to the nurse too. Told her to give you the good juice when you woke up again.”

“Is there a bad juice?”

“Oh, Jason, Jason,” Jackson said, his eyes narrowing conspiratorially. “When you’ve been to the nurse as often as I have, you get familiar with the whole inventory.”

Jason couldn’t help laughing.

“Why do teachers still even fall for it?”

“I hear my puppy dog eyes are pretty choice. No one can resist.”

Jason’s laugh was cut off by a voice behind him.

“Here we are, Mr. Grace. Just give that to your teacher.”

The secretary was holding out a slip, and Jason took it, a little thrown off by the interruption.

He eyed the door, suddenly dreading hauling ass to class and having to apologize for being late, trying to catch up, and just all around feeling like his life was not under control.

He turned to Jackson again.

“Thinking of skipping?” Jackson asked, a dangerous twinkle in his eye.

“I- What? No! I, uh… I wanted to ask you- Would you like to come over after school?”

Jackson’s face slipped into something more serious, and he sat up straighter in his chair.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“You want _me_ to come over?”

“Yeah?”

“To your… _house?_ ”

Jason shook his hand in front of his face, late slip flapping. “Nevermind. I kind of asked without thinking.”

“So you _don’t_ want me to come over?”

Jason stopped halfway to the door.

“Only if you want to.”

At that, Jackson let his shoulders go limp again and slid back down into the cushion.

“I’ll meet you at your locker after school,” Jackson said, looking bored, just as Principal Chiron slammed open the door to his office, roaring Jackson’s name.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jackson’s motorcycle was already parked outside his house by the time Jason’s bus pulled up at the stop. He’d felt a little weird giving the guy his address, but couldn’t bring himself to agree to ride double on that roaring monstrosity.

Heart hammering in his chest as he walked to his house, Jason once again tried to justify inviting _Percy freaking Jackson_ over to his house. Both of his parents were home. And Jackson looked like… like… _freaking Jackson_. Between the ripped jeans and the sharpied-on All Stars and the definitely slept-in tee and the undercut and the studded leather jacket…

Jason took a deep breath as he turned the corner around the tall decorative bush on the edge of their plot and started up his driveway. Percy Jackson apparently looked even more wild than usual when fresh off his motorcycle. Were his jeans always that torn up? _Mom is going to have kittens._

“Nice house.”

“Thanks,” Jason said, trying not to be self-conscious as he imagined what sort of place Jackson must live in.

“Your parents home?”

“Yeah, Dad works from home. Mom only works part time as a floral arranger.”

“That’s a thing?”

“She’s the only one I’ve ever met.”

Jackson tagged along companionably up the front steps, still looking around himself.

“You never said what we were doing,” he said, leaning against the doorframe as Jason worked his key through the lock, hoping to not draw a lot of attention to the noise.

“Uh… hanging out?”

He pushed the door open and lead the way inside.

“You can leave your shoes on,” he said as he closed the door behind his guest. He said it to take this awful charade just another step further, but judging by Percy’s mildly surprised mug, the guy hadn’t been planning on taking his shoes off in the first place. “And my room’s upstairs.”

He paused when Jackson casually looped a finger through a strap on Jason’s backpack, but all he got was a toothy grin so he laughed and led the way.

It was terrifying, really. Walking on perfectly fluffy white carpet with a completely disheveled, sharpied monstrosity in tow. His heart kept hammering faster and faster in his chest as they climbed the stairs and crossed the landing to his room. He pulled Jackson into his room and shut the door, unable to believe his luck.

He realized he was fearfully staring at the door when Jackson spoke.

“Soo.... am I, like, not supposed to be here?”

Jason turned to him and struggled to accept the bizarre image of Hurricane Jackson standing in the middle of his tidy room.

“I, uh… actually don’t know. I don’t remember the last time I had friends over.”

“Cool, cool. So what are we doing?”

Jason struggled to think of something. Do homework? Jackson would just walk right the fuck back out if he suggested that. Would Jason even mind? What was he thinking, inviting Jackson over in the first place? He’d barely ever talked to the guy before.

This was one hell of a bizarre nervous breakdown.

“Actually, since I’m here, could you help me with my Chem homework?” Percy said, taking off his backpack and looking around.

Jason tried not to laugh. Did _“help me with”_ mean _“do for me”_?

“What are you guys going over right now?”

“Uh- probably the same thing as you, dude? Unless you’re in Academic Chem?”

Jason was about to express his doubt that Jackson was in _AP_ Chemistry when there was a knock at the door.

“Jason, I- oh!” his mom stopped short in the doorway upon seeing Jackson. “Hello. Jason, you didn’t tell me you had a friend over.”

“Oh, I’m much more than a friend, Mrs. Grace,” Percy said, and Jason watched with horror as he punctuated his blasphemous implication with a wicked wink.

“Oh. Oh! Jason, that’s... wonderful.”

Jason had no words as he stared at her, trying to think his way out of this one. He just prayed Jackson would take pity and not say anything else.

“Can I speak to Jason for a moment, honey?” Jason’s mom was waving him over as she smiled at Jackson. “Real quick.”

Jason followed her numbly.

They barely walked a few feet before she was pressing into his space.

“You didn’t say anything about a boyfriend!”

Jason felt himself bristling at the accusatory tone. “You said it’s ok that I’m gay! Just yesterday, you said that!”

“Yes, but-”

“Yes, it’s ok, but I can’t invite the guy I like over?” Jason asked, face heating at the lie, and yet too furious not to attempt the guilt trip.

“Not _that_ one! I’m certain there are much nicer boys for you to date.”

“Are you going to kick him out?

“Jason-”

“Because if not, I need to help him with his _AP Chem_ homework,” Jason said with blatant emphasis on the course level.

She didn’t have a reply to that. He could see disappointment and frustration warring across her features, and it felt like he won something.

When she continued not saying anything, he spun on his heal, every nerve in his body screaming in alarm at the obvious disrespect. Turning the corner into his room, Jason all but tripped over Jackson, who was leaning against the door, obviously eavesdropping.

Jackson didn’t seem bothered by being caught. Instead, he slowly crossed his arms across his chest, looking smug and awful. Jason dropped his shoulders and glanced skyward, knowing we wouldn’t enjoy what was about to happen.

Finally, and with a satisfied click of his tongue, Jackson spoke.

“So you like me?”

Jason looked past him, refusing eye contact, trying to work through the irritation at his mom and the smirk on Jackson’s face. He flexed his jaw around to relieve some tension.

“Look,” he said, using all of the patience he could find within him, “this is going to sound awful, but I’m just trying to get them off my back.”

“About being gay?”

“About being perfect.”

“So I’m, like, a prop. Because I’m so absolutely nauseating to your parents.”

Jason looked back at Jackson,  realizing for the first time how unfair his crazy impulsive behavior was to this guy. Guilt bloomed in his stomach.

“Don’t worry, Jason. I’m not even offended,” Jackson drawled, pushing off the door, letting Jason close it, and walking to where he’d left his backpack. “You still have to help me with Chem, though.”

“You’re really not? I’ve been feeling out of my freaking mind since yesterday, but I’m self aware enough to realize this was kind of a dick move.”

Jackson slammed a roughed up notebook down onto Jason’s desk.

“I’m really not. Happy to come over every day if you need me. Do you have a second chair?”

Jason nodded and went to grab a folding stool from his walk-in. “Yeah, you can have a seat.”

Percy’s voice carried in as Jason moved a box out of the way.

“If you’re gonna do this, you should do it right, though.”

“How so?”

“Go for a ride on my bike with me after.”

Jason side eyed him and popped open the stool to sit down next to Jackson.

“Sorry, Jackson, I’m really not into risking my life.”

“It’s _Percy_ , Jason. Only people at school call me Jackson. We’re boyfriends now, remember? And you’re not risking anything, except your reputation with your parents as a goody two shoes. Not like I’ve ever wiped out before.”

Jason squirmed in his seat as he finally took off his backpack, ignoring the stinging in his eyes and cheeks at the word “boyfriend.” He pulled Jackson’s notebook closer for a better look.

“I don’t know, man.”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“ _How did you talk me into that?_ ”

Jason only barely resisted the urge to fling himself on the lawn in front of his house and kiss the ground. His legs felt like gelatin, his skin crawling with the aftershocks of adrenaline.

“I told you, it’s the puppy eyes. Never met anyone they don’t work on.”

“ _There was no room between those two cars!_ ”

“There was plenty of room, and we fit through just fine.”

“If you insist, but I am _never_ getting on that bike again.”

Percy laughed, and honestly, he seemed somehow less Larger Than Life Badass Delinquent when he was _Percy_ and not _Jackson_.

“Unfortunately, you are.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Because I’m picking you up for a date after school tomorrow.”

“You are?”

Percy responded by making air quotes and sarcastically mouthing, _“Date.”_ Then dropping his hands, he said out loud, “You need some better clothes, dude. You get an allowance?”

“Yeah?” Jason hoped Percy wouldn’t ask how much.

“Good. Then we’re going to Delphi Town Centre. I gotta do a thing first, but I’ll text you when I’m about to drop by.”

“Uh, ok. But- like, you sure? You don’t have to if you have other things to be doing. Like, my parents… I don’t know. I just don’t want to be a bother.”

“You kidding? This fake dating shindig is the most fun thing I’ve done all month. Besides, it’s not like it’s _so terrible_ hanging out with you.”

Jason laughed and Percy’s mock exasperation melted into an easy grin.

“So I’ll text you.”

“Okay- see you tomorrow-” Jason managed to say with a wave, but Percy’s motorcycle was already roaring away, leaving Jason confused and dazed. He really hadn’t known what to expect of spending the afternoon with Percy, but he hadn’t been quite prepared to continue to be surprised at every turn.

He turned back to his house, purple and pink and foreboding in the setting light.

He didn’t want to go back. Having Percy over had felt all wrong, and going riding with him had been frankly, terrifying, but Percy had been, for a few hours, like a barrier between himself and the expectations that were threatening to crush him.

Jason made his way up the driveway, dragging his feet.

He was tired. His head felt no less scrambled than the day before. Meeting Percy at his locker, he’d forgotten about seeing Ms. Athena for makeup work. As he reached the front door, Jason remembered how rudely he’d ended his conversation with his mom and he slumped with fatigue just imagining having to talk about it.

No one was in the foyer as he poked inside. No one saw him on the stairs. He was just about to duck inside his bedroom when his dad’s voice stopped him.

“Son.”

Jason looked across the landing to see his dad standing in the doorway to his parents’ bedroom. His mother was standing in the shadowy space behind him. Both faces were stone cold and serious.

“You haven’t done your homework at all the last two days.”

Jason had done Chem today while helping Percy. And then got started on Physics while Percy got his stuff together to leave.

He didn’t know if he had any Lit or French to work on due to the incident. He could text Percy about Lit. He could message his teacher about French.

There were so many ways he could appease them, but what came out was-

“Whatever. I don’t care.”

And he closed the door behind himself.

He stood there for a couple minutes, listening. Would they come over to talk? Would they decide to yell? Nothing happened, however, and he found himself staring at his bed- warm, inviting. After two hours out in the fresh air with Percy, being scared for his life, he was ready to fall in and cut out.

He could hear furious whispering on the landing outside his room. His parents were arguing. He wondered if they were arguing about his rudeness, his grades, or Percy. Maybe all three.

 _If you’re gonna do something, do it right,_ Jason thought and made his way to the bed. No point in becoming a rebellious teenager if you still do all your homework the day it’s assigned.

Every muscle in his body seemed to shut down and bliss out when he finally got between the covers. His mind, however, wasn’t with the program. He kept thinking about tutoring Percy earlier. Despite originally asking a lot of questions, Percy had eventually had an _“Aha!”_ moment and needed no further help filling out the rest of the worksheet. Even the questions he’d asked weren’t dumb ones like Jason had expected. In the end, it had turned out that he’d simply misread part of the lecture and gotten confused.

Jason was jealous. Once it was explained to him clearly, the assignment had turned easy for Percy. Jason, meanwhile, always had to refer to his notes for 70% of any worksheet before he finally got the hang of it.

He reached for his phone without thinking, then hesitated.

Should he really be bugging Percy about Lit homework? Then again… he didn’t have anyone else’s number from that class. He sent off the text.

While he waited, he ended up on Facebook, asking Mr. Apollo about what he’d missed during yesterday’s class.

Apollo replied first. The guy was wired on coffee and present on Facebook at all hours. He’d just hit ignore on a calendar reminder about Reyna’s wedding next weekend when Percy pinged him with the Lit assignment. Jason put the phone down. He didn’t know why he’d asked. He wouldn’t have time to prepare before school anyway.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

It was dark when Jason jerked awake, adrenaline screaming through every vein. He wrestled with his thoughts, desperately trying to remember why he was awake or analyze what might be wrong, but all he could remember of his dreams was circular angsting about not finishing his homework.

He sat there for a while, watching the dark blue street through the branches of the tree in their yard as his breathing calmed down and the red hot burn of anxiety cooled from his neck.

Then he got up, turned on his desk lamp, and started writing out his to-do list. First learn the French lesson and do the homework. Then the Lit assignment. Then Econ. Chem was done, but he had to finish the Gov he’d started during CS, start the Gov essay, and finish Physics. He looked at the time. Two o’clock. He might even have some time to sleep after everything.


	3. Thursday

Jason fell asleep on the bus ride home. If his neighbor hadn’t shaken his shoulder on her way out, he would have missed his stop. He dragged himself off the bus and onto the asphalt, daydreaming about a nap the entire way to his house.

His phone buzzed as he was making his way onto the porch.

“Thing ended early. Be there soon.”

Oh no. He’d forgot about Percy. Or more like, he’d remembered all day at school, but now that he was so close to his bed, his mind had dumped the extra weight of that memory. He took the stairs to his room two at a time, rushing to dump his backpack in his room and wash his face to wake up a little.

“Jason?”

He toweled off his face, feeling much more awake after the cold water and almost tripped trying to poke his face out of the bathroom.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Make sure you do your homework early today. You have a lot to catch up on.”

“I have a date.”

Beryl Grace’s face could turn scary at times, and right now, pinched as it was in fury, it was downright terrifying.

“With _that boy?_ ”

“Yes, Mom. With _Percy_.”

“You have homework.”

“Only the stuff from today. I’m all caught up.”

“And why not do it immediately? You can socialize on the weekend!”

“Mom, he asked me to go out today, and I promised I would.”

“What did Ms. Athena say about improving your test grade?”

Ms. Athena didn’t say a single thing about it because Jason hadn’t asked. There had been a moment to do so, when he was the first one in the classroom and she’d asked him how he was feeling, but he couldn’t force himself to do it. Lots of people got Cs, they just did better the next time around. So he picked up the test that he’d left behind the other day, and stayed silent. He hoped looking over Ms. Athena’s notes and corrections in the margins would be enough to do improve before the next test.

“She said she doesn’t offer any sort of makeups, but she’ll consider it.”

“Good. But I’m serious, Jason. Getting that C should be giving you pause. You need to be reevaluating your choices. You need to be thinking ‘What did I do wrong? How could I improve?’ This is a really bad time to be starting a relationship. You always need to see the ways in which you can improve your internal issues first before thinking of the _external_ things. And I don’t think that this Percy-”

The doorbell rang.

Jason grinned and squeezed past her.

“You’re totally right. And I’ll do that. I’ll make a success map tonight, alright?”

“Jason!”

He pounded down the stairs, feet flying, heart racing.

“Bye, Mom! I’ll be back in a bit!”

“When’s a bit?”

“Dunno!”

And then he was flinging the door open, grabbing Percy by the wrist and dragging him down the porch steps before the door even had a chance to slam behind him.

Percy finally caught up with his stride, righting himself from stumbling after Jason.

“You alright, dude?”

“Saved by the bell.”

“Obviously, you’re totally red.”

Jason looked at him, just then realizing how hot he felt. He struggled with his emotions for a moment, blinking, then fought down the tears, anger, and fear with a smile.

“Seriously, though. Thanks. You couldn’t have arrived a moment too soon.”

“Sure,” Percy slurred easily, grinning and prying his wrist free to throw an arm around Jason’s shoulders. “You ready to do some shopping?”

“I’m ready for anything that isn’t homework.”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason had not expected shopping with Percy to be so much fun. Percy had insisted that Jason get a whole wardrobe revamp at H&M.

“If you look stuck up, you’ll feel stuck up,” Percy had shared as he piled endless fitted tees into Jason’s arms. “No polos. No khakis. I don’t know why your parents decided to dress you like a private school student but send you to public school.”

“There aren’t any good ones in the area.”

“Isn’t that like a thing, though? You’re supposed to look at schools in the area before buying a house there?”

Jason had shrugged. He’d never asked.

Percy had tried to make him change into a new outfit before they kept shopping, but Jason told him to back right the hell off. It was weird enough to buy completely different clothes from what he normally wore, from a store he’d never gone into. He didn’t need that change crashing into him all at once. He’d also declined Percy’s attempt to goad him into buying new shoes. He’d been surprised that Percy’s suggestion was a pair of rather respectable looking light brown suede shoes rather than skater shoes. Jason had gone as far as to try them on, and they seriously did look good, but he’d had to put his foot down before his anxiety flared at the pressure.

Percy backed off easy enough.

“I’m just here to tell you what looks good, dude. You can make your own choices from there.”

He’d lost track of Percy in the bookstore, only to find him in the audio book section with a huge stack in his arms.

“You gonna have time for all of those?”

“Sure. It’s the only way I read, really.”

“Why not just get digital copies?”

“I like stacking them on my bookshelf so I look well-read. Like people with paper books do.”

Jason laughed and looked at the titles in Percy’s arms. Heavy stuff. “Is it more important to _be_ well-read or _look_ well-read?”

“In my case, both. People tend to think I’m stupid unless I prove otherwise.”

Jason’s eyes caught onto Percy’s face, and he knew he looked guilty even before Percy’s mouth stretched into a grin.

“ _You_ thought I was stupid. I’m in your Lit class but you probably thought it was some kind of fluke.” Percy held up his hand as Jason’s mouth opened. “I don’t want to hear it. Not a word.”

Jason looked around at the rows of audiobooks, hoping for a way out as Percy went back to scanning titles.

“You’re always skipping class, though. Or you’re in the principal's office.”

“Yup. So?”

“I mean… kind of gives the impression you don’t care.”

Percy looked at him thoughtfully. Raised his eyebrows. Shrugged and turned back to the disk he’d picked up.

“I care about some things.”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“So you probably have a bunch of homework to do?”

Percy was shaking out the H&M bag, which was matted into a ball from being stuffed into the bike’s storage. Nearby, Jason was shaking out his limbs to flush some of the terror out. The ride was a lot less scary than the first couple times, but his hands and feet still felt clammy.

“Maybe. Maybe not. You could come up if you want.”

“Sure.”

They set off up the driveway, Percy passing the shopping bag to him.

“So you going to start failing classes now too, or…?”

Jason twisted his lips in uncertainty.

“I doubt it. Not on purpose at least. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep if I started failing. But, maybe just a little? At least not doing all my homework as soon as I get it?”

Percy nodded, but didn’t volunteer any input.

“Would it be awful if I said I was surprised you even bother doing homework?” Jason asked quietly as he fished for his keys.

Percy laughed softly.

“Would you be shocked if I said I do literally all of my homework?”

Jason jerked his head back to look at him as he led the way up again.

“On time?”

“I get a lot of extensions.”

“How?”

“Puppy eyes.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s true.”

“No, seriously. Why would the teachers give you extensions if you’re always skipping?”

Percy made himself comfortable on Jason’s bed, and gave him a pointed look when Jason kept waiting for an explanation.

“Look, we can’t all be this charismatic and charming. Deal with it.”

Jason was starting to think Percy was pulling his leg. He sat down next to Percy with a sigh, tossing his purchases into the closet to sort and hang later.

“You like being enigmatic, don’t you?”

Percy snickered and bumped shoulders with him. “And you don’t like having to work for answers, do you?”

Jason laughed, scratching at his neck, suddenly self conscious about being nosy.

“I mean, I guess. It’s nice to get straight answers. But I guess I’ll-”

There was a knock on the door, and immediately, a tug on his elbow.

“Jason-”

Percy was on top of him the next moment- the door handle turned noisily- warm lips moving against his- a gasp from the doorway-

“Jason!”

Jason shoved Percy off, sitting up and staring at his mom in alarm.

“Mom, get out!”

“No sucking face in my house, young man!”

“Get out!”

His mom retreated, her face bright red and eyes wide in outrage.

“Don’t you dare close this door again, Jason!”

And then she spun on her heel and stormed off, her footsteps too loud all the way downstairs.

Jason rounded on Percy.

“What the hell, Jackson?”

The asshole didn’t look the slightest bit apologetic. “Problem?”

“I told you I don’t actually have a thing for you!”

“So? I was just making your silly story believable.” He nodded towards the door. “Your mom is well on her way to abandoning all illusions of you being her sweet, perfect little boy.”

Jason’s ribcage seized as he realized that Percy had only kissed him for the charade. That didn’t make Jason any less furious.

“You should go. Before she tells Dad and he comes up here.”

“Dude, you’re not seriously mad at me are you?” Percy asked, but he was already standing up and stretching his arms above his head. “Did I steal your first kiss?” he added, looking very smug and pleased as Jason put his hand on Percy’s back and guided him out.

“No.”

 _Yes_.


	4. Saturday

He didn’t get yelled at that day, but he’d gotten a whole huge lecture after school on Friday, mostly consisting of, “That boy is not allowed to come over anymore,” and, “You’re not to go on any more dates with that delinquent,” as well as, “We’re very disappointed with you and expect you to work really hard this weekend.”

By the time his father was finished listing off all the ways in which Jason was a terrible son, Jason had completely forgiven Percy for his totally dick move of kissing Jason without permission. In fact, as he was sent upstairs after a very awkward dinner he wished he’d been allowed to skip like all the others this week, he realized that he should probably thank Percy for pissing his parents off this much.

“I’m grounded for the foreseeable future, so I guess your parent angering method worked,” he sent once he was at his desk, and then, “Except now I’m grounded. So back to only ever studying.”

The reply came quickly.

“You wanna sneak out?”

“Rather not be murdered, but thanks.”

He tried to get work done, but Percy wouldn’t stop texting him after that. So by the time he finally crawled in bed, he’d only finished the stuff he had forgotten to do yesterday.

Which, he found that he didn’t care. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to space out his homework over the weekend instead of rushing to study ahead.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

He had nine new texts from Percy in the morning and by the time he replied to all of them, he had six more. Which was weird for Jason as he’d never really texted anyone before. Only now and then with a classmate to discuss an assignment, but never for a whole conversation.

Percy had no limit to the things he wanted to discuss with Jason. Did Jason watch any shows? What did he do in his spare time? How was he not dead from lack of spare time? Did Jason even get any fresh air?

When Jason told him off for being so judging, Percy switched to talking about himself- the cool rocks he’d found on his last hike, how writing college applications was a total drag, and how he was really excited that the air was turning more brisk and fun to ride around in.

Jason tried to keep the phone on silent and on his bed so he’d stop checking messages but found himself wandering over to check too frequently anyway. Giving up, he brought the phone to his desk to continue their conversation.

It was around noon when his mother finally poked her head into his room to check on him.

“Jason, we’re going to the winery with the neighbors. How far are you with your work?”

Jason had to come up with a lie while trying to cover his phone better with a notebook.

“Uh, just… finishing up second to last thing. Then I got my Gov and Lit essays, but I’ve already started on the Gov one.”

His mother sighed and nodded.

“Alright. Make sure you stay focused and get things done today. You still need to study ahead on Sunday.”

“Right.”

“Alright, sweetie. I love you.”

“Bye, Mom.”

Jason pulled out his phone as soon as she closed the door behind herself to tell Percy how close he’d come to being caught. Then next thing he knew, he had already forgotten about homework again and was telling Percy about his parents going out and not wanting to work while they weren’t here, asking Percy for recommendations on things to do.

But Percy stopped responding after a while, and, desolate and bored, Jason went back to his homework.

He was just finishing up French when the doorbell rang.

Running down the stairs he tried to peek through the foyer mirrors. His parents hadn’t said anything about expecting a package. He opened the door, apologizing for taking so long to-

It was Percy.

“What- I told you I’m grounded!”

“Yeah, but your parents are gone, sooo…”

Percy squeezed past him, making a beeline for the stairs.

“Percy, they’re not going to be gone long. They usually only stay for a couple hours, tops, to have brunch. They’ve already been gone half of that!”

Percy stopped, halfway up the curving stairs and leaned over the bannister to sigh dramatically at Jason.

“Let’s put it this way- what was the point of all this rebellion if you’re just going to return to your same bad habits that landed you in the nurse’s office in the first place? The goal of getting your parents off your back- in case you haven’t thought this through that far- is to live a little.”

He spread his hands.

“This- this is living a little. A friend sneaking over while your parents are gone. Not doing homework all weekend. I mean, do you even _have_ friends aside from me?”

“I do-”

“That you hang out with outside of school? Not just during lunch?”

Jason flushed.

“I don’t have time.”

Percy started climbing to the second floor again.

“Right. So you’re going to make some time for me.”

Defeated, Jason followed Percy to his room, finding him sitting on Jason’s bed again, leaning back on his arms and dangling his feet.

“You look good by the way. In those new shirts. I forgot to tell you yesterday at school.” He gestured to Jason with his chin. “The cut of those jeans suits you too.”

Jason tugged self-consciously at the hem on his tee. Honestly, he’d felt a bit naked at school yesterday, not wearing one of his usual thick-cotton polos.

“Thanks. I kind of wish I’d gotten those shoes too. They really were nice.”

Percy shrugged.

“There’s always next time. Or you can get something for the coming season.”

“Right…”

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that.

“Sorry if it upset you. The kiss?”

“Oh! Uh- it’s fine. I was just surprised.”

“You are gay, though?”

Jason folded his arms and immediately regretted the defensive gesture when Percy’s eyes snapped to it.

“Yeah.”

“I can’t seem to tell if it is or isn’t a problem with your folks.”

Jason laughed, letting his arms drop.

“You know, I can’t either. I think the idea that I’m gay was a lot less unpleasant to them than the idea that I might actually be doing gay things with someone.”

“Maybe they just need to get used to it.”

“Maybe.”

“We could let them walk in on us doing something again.”

“Um… I feel like they’d probably never let me out of their sight again if we did that. They seemed pretty upset that we were making out.”

“I’d hardly call a few pecks making out.”

Jason rolled his eyes, embarrassed by the topic and not wanting to admit that it had seemed like a bit more than a peck to him. “As far as Mom was concerned, we were having filthy unprotected sex. I got chewed out so bad for ‘risky behavior’ yesterday,” he lied smoothly. If Percy was going to downplay what had happened with humor, he would too.

“I mean, may as well, like, keep pushing their boundaries.”

“Like how?”

“Like let them walk in on me pretending to blow you.”

Jason felt himself blush from the roots of his hair all the way to his collar.

“Pretending to blow me?” he whisper-screamed. “That doesn’t sound awkward at all.”

“Awww, come onnn,” Percy drawled, leaning back further. “It’ll be like a prank. We’ll laugh about it later. And your parents will have no choice but to acknowledge you as an independent sexual being-”

“They’re more likely to acknowledge me as grounded for life, Percy.”

Percy only widened his smile and gave him a very conspicuous once-over. He looked like he was about to say something else when the rumble of the garage door started up. Then Percy shot up and made for the door. Jason slumped against the wall behind him in relief. Things had been getting way too tense and he was incredibly grateful that Percy decided to be reasonable.

But Percy wasn’t being reasonable. Instead of sneaking out of the room, he closed the door, and turned back around, grabbing Jason by the elbow and pulling him towards the bed.

“What’s going on? You should _go_ before they come into the house,” Jason insisted as he was turned around and pushed back. “ _What_ are you doing?”

Percy maneuvered him to sit on the edge of the mattress and then kneeled down, gently pushing Jason’s knees apart. Jason locked them in place when he realized how awkward the position was.

“C’mon, Jason. Let’s pretend I’m sucking your dick,” Percy said, and moved Jason’s knees apart more forcefully, making room for himself between Jason’s thighs.

“I-I-I don’t know, Percy. This is-”

“Oh, don’t be such a prude, it’ll be way more effective than a bit of kissing. They’ll end up having to adjust to it.”

“Fine! Ok! _Wait_ , what are you-” Jason hissed, clutching at Percy’s hands as they easily popped open the button of his jeans and started pulling apart the fly.

“Well, I can’t pretend to be blowing you if your pants are all zipped up, right?” Percy said, eyes unwaveringly on Jason’s as he managed to get the zipper open the whole way. “So we’re just going to-” his hands wrestled with Jason’s to get his briefs down. “-make it look real, and-” Percy won the match and pulled his briefs down just far enough to make it obvious that- “Oh-ho! _Someone’s_ getting hard!”

Jason wanted to fall through the bed and the floor and disappear entirely. He didn’t know what was worse- when Percy had been making eye contact, or the way he was now staring at Jason’s swelling cock.

“Wait, don’t touch it-!”

Too late, and Percy’s cold fingertips smoothed over his hot flesh and made him shiver. Jason realized he’d stopped wrestling with Percy, and was now just holding onto Percy’s wrists for dear life.

“How exactly am I supposed to pretend to blow it without touching it, Jason?” Percy all but giggled as his eyes flashed back up to meet Jason’s, and in that moment, Jason knew- he _knew_ Percy was messing with him. But there was a hand loosely wrapped around his cock and it felt amazing and terrifying all at once, and more than anything, Jason wanted for that hand to tighten. “There, we can just talk until they find us with my head like this over your dick.”

And _“like this”_ apparently meant tilted down, dangerously close, so close that Jason could feel Percy’s every hot exhale like a caress, and he couldn’t stop the way his hips trembled, slowly starting to rock up closer towards that wicked mouth-

Jason let loose a whine that sounded utterly pathetic, even to his own ears.

“Whoa, Jason,” and Percy’s face was tilted up again, green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Buddy, slow down your hips or I’ll have to actually blow you.”

Percy’s hand twitched tighter. Jason moaned and then moaned again when he bucked up into the fist, unable to stop himself.

“Alright, I’m just gonna go ahead and blow you. Your fault, not mine. And to be honest, it’s the best way to scar your parents for life.”

And then that awful, devious mouth was descending onto him, hot breath replaced by an even hotter tongue and scalding lips, and Jason found himself falling onto his back, writhing as he tried to push up into Percy’s incredible, perfect mouth, shaking fingers desperately clinging to Percy’s wrists.

“Percy, pl-”

_“What the hell is going on in here?”_

Jason sat up immediately, hands flying over his crotch to cover himself as Jupiter Grace’s face seemed to swell in size as it got red and then purple.

Jason didn’t move.

Percy didn’t move.

Just as he looked like he’d reached maximum size and color intensity, his dad stomped violently to one side.

“Out!” he bellowed, eyes burning through Percy, finger shaking violently to point out the doorway. “Out of my house!”

Percy stood up and fled without any further prompting, Jason’s father’s eyes boring into him as he fled. Then those eyes turned to Jason. He trembled for a moment, looking ready to foam at the mouth, and then, with seemingly a tremendous amount of effort, lowered his voice to a seething whisper.

“Do. Your. Homework.”

And the door slammed shut behind him.


	5. Sunday

He’d been so busy thinking how embarrassing it would be to have Percy between his legs that he’d never stopped to think of how embarrassing it would be to have his dad walk in on him falling apart on the bed.

Why had he let Percy push him onto it? Why had he let Percy push it so far? And  _ why  _ was he so supremely disappointed that it had ended the way it did?

He’d cried after it happened. He had been so close to orgasm, and he'd wanted it  _ so bad _ \- to come in Percy’s mouth, to see how he'd react. Would Percy have made fun of him for getting off so quickly? Or would he have been sweet after- comforting Jason and telling him it wasn't a big deal. Would he have kissed Jason after or was it really all a big joke?

He wanted to ask but he was so terrified of the answers that he had immediately shut off his phone as soon as he finished himself off in the bathroom and felt his phone vibrating with a new text. 

Now it was Sunday and time for bed and he still had no idea what was happening in his life. He'd spent half his day working on essays to distract himself and half of it hitting his head on the desk trying not to cry. 

Jason got in bed and put his face in his hands.

Somehow his stupid scheme was turning out to be more stressful than his life before fainting.


	6. Monday

_ “Earth to Percy!” _

_ “Dude, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have a chance with Mr. Prissy?” _

_ “Oh, yeah, Clarisse? Tell that to me being with him already.” _

_ “Wait, wha- hey, where you going?” _

_ “Percy, do not do the thing!” _

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“Hey, Jason?”

Across the lunch table, Piper McLean choked on her pizza. Jason turned around to stare at the improbable sight of Percy Jackson standing next to his lunch table.

The world froze for a moment, the noise of the cafeteria muted by the gaze he found himself caught under. Percy’s eyes were nice. They were a lot prettier when Percy was calm and not plotting something.

“Talk in private for a sec?”

Jason put down his sandwich, left leg already swinging off the bench.

“Yeah, sure.”

He tried not to think about Percy’s lips as he followed him to a corner of the cafeteria, but it was impossible. His face grew hot as he remembered that this wasn’t a boy he was friends with, or a boy who was a classmate. This was a boy who, just two days ago, had wrapped his plush lips around Jason’s cock and sucked. 

Jason wondered if he could ever get past knowing that his first kiss and first blow job had been so casually given and so ungratefully taken.

“So… are you mad?” Percy said, coming to halt next to a vending machine and leaning against it.

Jason fidgeted.

“No.”

“You haven’t been replying to any of my texts, dude.”

Jason nodded even as he answered, “My phone’s been off since.”

Percy shifted and heaved a deep breath, his eyebrows drawn and looking so serious that it was strange.

“Do you still want to keep doing things? Sneaking out and stuff?”

Jason slapped a hand to his face and let it drag down as he stared at the ceiling.

“I don’t know what I want anymore, Percy. This is really stressful. I just really wanted things to change, and now they have and I don’t know if it’s for the better.”

“Sure it’s for the better- you got a free blow job out of it.”

Jason blushed and looked around to make sure they were truly alone. Then he corrected Percy, trying to make it sound condescending, but probably ruining the effect by being so red.

“ _ Half _ a blow job.”

Percy burst out laughing, throwing his spare hand against the vending machine for support. He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye as he looked to Jason, eyes all playful once more.

“True. My bad.”

There was a quiet moment, then-

“Maybe I can finish it sometime.”

Jason shoved at his shoulder and started walking away.

“Maybe next year. Because I’m pretty sure I’m grounded until then.”

“Turn your phone on, dumbass!” Percy called after him.

Jason made a beeline for his table.

“What did Jackson want?” Frank asked as he sat back down.

“Change our tutoring schedule,” Jason lied smoothly.

No one questioned it.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

He managed to wait until he got on the bus and took an entire seat for himself before turning his phone back on. Percy had sent him almost fifteen texts. Unsurprisingly, those were the only notifications he had. As strange as their little experiment was, at least Jason now had a reason to even have a phone.

“Your dad is terrifying.”

“Ok, so maybe I underestimated how angry he would get.”

“Sorry I left you hanging.”

“Are you always so noisy when you’re getting blown? I liked it.”

“I mean I know I’m good, but feels good to know I’m THAT good.”

“Or have you never done anything before?”

“You haven’t, have you?”

“Too bad, letting such a great dick go to waste.”

Jason was pretty sure he couldn’t handle any more texts like that, so he was really happy that the rest of them were variations of “Hey, are you mad?” and “Are you alive?”

Skin abuzz and dick half hard, Jason went over everything Percy said. Jason hadn’t even remembered how much he’d moaned while Percy was between his legs until just now. Did Percy really like hearing it or was he just saying that to put Jason at ease?

And just the fact that Percy was being nice about it- complimenting Jason’s dick and saying he liked his moaning-  _ what did that even mean? _

Jason spent the rest of the bus ride slowly submerging into existential horror.

Percy’s validation somehow meant everything to him.

Percy’s affection was crushing his chest.

He wanted more, and he didn’t know if he was allowed it.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

He had powered through the bulk of his homework when Percy texted him, asking if his phone was on now. Jason replied and tried to focus on his work again.

“Good, you wanna get out for some fresh air?”

Even if he didn’t, Jason wouldn’t pass for a chance to see Percy again. He agreed, even as his heart did somersaults in his ribcage, urging caution.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

They pulled up to a nice condo building after about an hour of joyriding. Percy parked in the adjacent parking garage and pulled him by the sleeve of his hoodie all the way to his place, knocking as he got there.

Percy’s mom was not at all like he would have imagined her. She was bubbly and happy to see them from the very moment she opened the door. Percy didn’t get any reprimands for being out late, but there was also none of the apathy Jason assumed the parent of a delinquent would have. Instead, she ushered them in, fussed over how  _ “cute” _ Jason was, insisted that Jason call her Sally, and had them sit down at the counter while scooping them both bowls of blue ice cream.

Jason watched her move about the kitchen, fascinated. She looked more like Percy’s significantly older sister than a mom. Same olive skin, same dark hair, and same love for clothes that simply wouldn’t pass muster anywhere respectable. Torn jeans, band tee, and wild hair only mildly contained by a bun gave off the impression of “eccentric college student” more than “responsible adult.”

Sally listened to Percy animatedly talk about school and friends and their ride around town, and then complained in turn about how her client wanted another painting just as large as the last and how she was certain to develop carpal tunnel.

Jason found himself wanting to come over more often.

“So, Jason. You staying over with us tonight?”

Jason pulled out his phone, horrified to see what time it was. Percy cut in smoothly before Jason could freak out about getting home immediately.

“Yeah, it’s pretty late. You can just borrow some of my clothes in the morning.”

“I don’t have my homework with me.”

Percy shrugged. “We’ll swing by your house in the morning.”

“Alright, well, I’m going to bed, boys. Don’t stay up too late,” Sally announced, and then as she left the kitchen, she added, “Percy, talk to you for a moment?”

Percy hopped off the barstool, and made his way over. Jason looked around the clean kitchen as they talked until an overheard phrase pulled him out of his thoughts.

“You have condoms, right?”

“Mom...” Percy groaned, and then sighed. “Yeah, I do.”

Jason bit his lips, instantly feeling completely overwhelmed. He was still freaking out quietly when Percy came back over, leaning on the counter, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Ready for bed?”

“Actually… I want you to take me home.”

Percy sputtered.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Is something the matter?” Percy asked, face turning serious again. He really did look very handsome like that.

Jason stood up and made for the door, suddenly needing to escape.

“My homework’s still there, it’s not even finished, and I can’t just sleep over without warning my folks or they’ll have the cops out looking for me, and I definitely don’t want to call them and ask permission- they’ve literally never let me sleep over at anyone’s house before, and I doubt they’ll start with you, and-”

“Okay, okay, I get it, just slow down a sec.”

Jason hadn’t even processed that he’d walked out the door and was halfway to the parking garage. As he slowed down, Percy took the lead, pulling out his keys and spinning them on his finger.

Jason wondered if Percy really did have condoms just lying around for the occasion. 

And how often it turned out that he needed them.


	7. Wednesday

He came home after dark the next day. And the day after.

Instead of taking the bus, he’d agreed to go home with Percy on his bike, and they spent both afternoons doing homework, which Percy was actually more serious about than he’d let on. Now and then, he’d call Sally and she’d come over to help with proofreading or reading something and rephrasing it for Percy to understand.

“I can do that, if you want,” Jason had offered after the third time, but Percy only grinned and shook his head.

“Don’t offer. It’s a full time job, helping me out.”

The past two nights, he’d managed to sneak in unmolested. Today, his parents cut him off before he got to the stairs.

“Son,” his dad said, towering with his arms folded across his chest. “You are  _ grounded _ . What part of that are you not understanding?”

“The part where I’m grounded for having a boyfriend?”

“You’re grounded for doing irresponsible things in my house, under my roof. When you move out, you can do whatever you want. Until then-”

“Right, but then what’s the problem with me going to Percy’s house and doing things there?”

His parents looked stunned. Jason felt much the same.

He’d basically just implied that he went over to Percy’s to-

He pushed through it.

“Maybe I’ll start coming home more when you stop making such a big deal about me having Percy over.”

“But your  _ homework! _ ” His mom finally found something to fall back on.

“Percy and I  _ do  _ homework together. His mom even helps out. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal that I have time to hang out with someone if I’m still doing all my work. He’s not a flunkie, you know. He’s taking  _ four  _ AP classes- that’s more than most people I know.”

There was a silence.

“Which four?” his dad asked, sounding curious despite himself.

“Bio, Geo, Physics, and Lit. And before you ask, yes he  _ does  _ get good grades,” Jason said and hoped that would keep them from asking more about Percy’s classes. Because the other four were, frankly, bullshit courses for flunkies.

His parents seemed impressed, and Jason realized that despite everything, despite the blowjob, despite the ripped jeans and the motorcycle, he had just won the argument.

“He can’t go in your room,” his dad finally said.

“What?”

“You can do your homework in the living room and there will be no fooling around.”

“And you have to keep your grades up,” his mom added. “If they drop, he’s gone.”

“Really?”

“Really. Now get upstairs and if you’ve finished all your homework, go to bed.”

Jason didn’t need to be told twice. He’d had enough of this conversation and was happy it was ending on a high note. Halfway up the stairs, however, he had a thought and stopped.

“Can he come with me to Cousin Reyna’s wedding this weekend?”

“Son, I don’t think they allow people like him into weddings.”

“Yeah, but he’ll dress for the occasion.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Jason. Fine! But you better get into every single school you apply to, or I  _ swear- _ ” his father seethed and stomped out of sight.

Jason grinned and ran the rest of the way upstairs, fumbling for his phone to tell Percy.


	8. Saturday

Percy didn’t let go of Jason’s hand the entire ceremony. Jason was starting to feel like his entire life and essence had become concentrated in just the sensation of Percy’s fingers tightly, hotly, and damply laced into his. Now and then, Percy would give him a squeeze. Once, he tried to pull their hands into his lap, but Jason immediately pulled their fists out of that territory, sending Percy a warning glare.

He wasn’t sure whose behavior to be more impressed with so far this evening- Percy’s or his parents’. Percy had, for his part, shown up looking completely perfect. Hair tamed with product to a reasonable tousled look, dark green dress shirt bringing out his eyes, and his pants without a single wrinkle in them. The only things Jason had twitched at were the leather jacket he’d worn over his shirt to keep out the cooling air of a fall evening, and that he had insisted on following the Grace family to the wedding on his motorcycle.

Despite these hiccups, Jason’s parents hadn’t said a single negative thing about Percy on the ride there, except his mom asking what schools Percy was applying to and what he was thinking of studying in college. By the time they’d all arrived at the venue, and reunited with Percy, Jason’s mom seemed to have officially accepted him as a respectable young man. Apparently, knowing that Percy was applying to reputable schools and intended to pursue a STEM career was all she ever needed.

The whole thing was almost ruined when Percy kept trying to sneak alcoholic drinks during cocktail hour, each time foiled by Jason’s sharp smack across his hand. The doors were just opened to the intimately lit dining area when Percy leaned in to murmur into his ear.

“So did you really think I was hoping to get drunk here?”

“Weren’t you?” Jason elbowed him as they moved forward with the rest of the crowd.

“Nah. If I was, I wouldn’t have insisted on driving my bike here. You are just too fun to tease.”

Jason rolled his eyes. When he turned to Percy to tell him off about it, however, his friend wasn’t there. Jason looked around trying to spot messy black hair, but in all directions were adults and Reyna’s friends that he didn’t recognize. He stepped out of someone’s way as they jostled him, impatiently trying to press forward. Jason let himself drop back and wait until the press of the crowd died down.

A pretty girl in her twenties approached him when he was one of the handful of people not yet seated.

“Name?”

“Uh, Jason Grace?”

She took a moment to find his name in the chart.

“Oh! Right there!” and she pointed to a corner of the hall. “With that tall, dark, and handsome boy from earlier.”

Jason gave her a look, but she was already helping the next person find their seat. She’d obviously been talking about Percy as he would be seated with Jason, but the table she’d pointed to was empty.

Jason made his way over, waving to his parents as he passed the table they were sat at with his dad’s brothers and their spouses.

The round table had five places and was still entirely empty of any guests. Feeling a bit awkward, Jason circled around it until he found his name. He scanned the dining area as he sat, hoping to catch a glimpse of his boyf-  _ Percy _ . Where had he wandered off to? And when did Jason start allowing himself to think of Percy as his boyfriend? Sure, he’d introduced Percy as such to everyone he ran into so far at the wedding, but he was having enough trouble with the way he felt about Percy. He didn’t need to be muddying it up in his head with inappropriate titles.

There was the clear ring of metal on a champagne flute and Jason looked up as the first toast was started.

He was going to kill Percy.

And the other three people that were missing from his table.

He saw movement come towards him out of the corner of his eye, and turned, ready to chew Percy out, but found that it was someone he’d never seen before. A young man only slightly older than him slid into a seat across the table and grinned, leaning across to whisper.

“Sorry, my siblings and I were all hoping to sit at one table, but they split us up, so we squeezed in anyway. But we didn’t mean to leave you all alone in the corner.”

“It’s ok, I’m just waiting for my boyfriend to reappear from wherever he went off to,” Jason whispered back, glad that he did actually have a valid  _ I’m-not-completely-pathetic-and-lonely _ excuse.

“Ohh, okay. Then I’m going to head back once this speech-”

“Sh!” came a hiss from a nearby table and they both turned in their seats to see an elderly man glaring at them.

Face heating up, and taking a quick drink from his glass after a passing waiter filled it with water, Jason turned to listen to the speech.

There was a warm hand on his thigh and Jason nearly jolted out of his skin.

Another hand was on his other thigh the next moment and Jason understood-

_ Percy _ .

Jason squirmed as a warm palm moved over to rub heavily over his cock through the material of his pants. He started lifting the heavy tablecloth to hiss at Percy to cut it the fuck out and get up, but just as he saw the hand on his junk, a waiter showed up in his peripherals and Jason let go of the fabric.

As Jason waited for the man to set a basket of bread out on the table, Percy wasted no time in unbuttoning Jason’s pants, unzipping his fly and wrestling Jason’s cock out of his boxers and into the open, easily swatting away Jason’s hand when he tried to inconspicuously stop him.

Next moment, there was a hot kiss to the tip of his still mostly soft dick and Jason jerked violently as he shut his mouth to prevent the undignified squawk that would have come out otherwise. The waiter gave him a funny look as he set down the little plate of butter and leisurely moved on to the next table.

Jason balled his hands into fists as Percy slurped obscenely and sucked Jason into his mouth. The other guy at the table with Jason looked back at the noise, brows drawn in question. Jason reached for his glass of water.

“Thirsty,” he mouthed, taking a sip.

The guy laughed and turned back as the next speech started, apparently forgetting that he had planned to leave after the first speech ended. Percy sucked harder and Jason shut his eyes, biting both lips, trying to refrain from making any wild movements and ridiculous noises.

He wasn’t sure if he was lucky or not that Percy wasn’t trying to tease him. On the one hand, this would all be over quickly with the pressure of both hot suction and a tight fist. On the other hand, it didn’t seem like Percy planned to leave him hanging this time, and Jason had no way of knowing whether he’d make a sound at climax. He gripped the sides of his seat.

Letting his abused lips go, Jason ground his teeth as Percy fluttered his tongue against his slit for a brief moment before pushing back down onto him, going further and further-

Jason’s face almost hit his dinner plate as he jerked forward with orgasm, fighting to keep his feet on the floor and not bang a knee against the table. His eyelids slid open as he struggled with the force of the pleasurable release, staring at the blurry plate just an inch or two in front of him and trying not to pant too loudly.

Finally, Percy let him go, tucking him back inside and zipping him up. No longer trembling, Jason let his face finally rest softly against the plate. He felt Percy wiggling around below and then coming up next to him at the table, scooching his chair closer to Jason’s.

“Oh, hey- didn’t see you coming up,” came the other guy’s hushed voice. “Is he ok?”

“Yeah, he’s got a bit of a headache. I finally found him some Motrin, though,” Percy replied and his hand landed on Jason’s back, rubbing soothingly back and forth.

“Cool. I’m going to head back to my table then. See you guys around.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Jason waited until the guy was well and truly gone before picking up his face and looking at Percy tiredly.

“Why the fuck-”

“You’ve got a red mark,” Percy said, smiling, and reached out to poke Jason’s forehead. “Right here, from the plate.”

“Percy.”

“I hope you return the favor after,” Percy said, turning his attention to the bread and butter. 

“May I remind you that we’re not actually dating?”

“Still, that’s twice now-”

“One and a half-”

“-so you totally owe me for coming here instead of spending the night with someone who would.”

Jason watched him as he spread butter out on the bread. Percy decided to finally finally acknowledge his gaze and made eye contact.

“Do you want to taste yourself before I eat this?”

“Taste-  _ what? _ ”

“If you kiss me right now, I still taste like your come.”

Jason looked away, cheeks flushing. 

“No way.”

Percy laughed, and Jason heard him bite into the bread, crust crunching loudly.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the first round of speeches having ended. Jason watched the tables get called up to the buffet two or three at a time. Body both blissed out and tense with something fragile that he couldn’t place, he tried carefully not to think about anything.

When it was their turn, Jason panicked for a moment, looking down at himself, shoulders drooping with relief upon seeing that nothing was obvious. Percy pressed up against his side, fingers lacing into Jason’s, but not saying anything.

“I’m really not hungry anymore,” Jason said as they queued up behind the other guests.

“What a coincidence. Wanna ditch?” 

Percy said it so easily that Jason was certain that he was joking, but-

“Yeah, actually.”

Percy looked at him with surprised eyes for a second, all trace of smile gone, and then wordlessly pulled Jason out of the line and towards the door. Jason looked around at the many people in attendance.

“This is rude.”

“They think we’re slipping off to go to the bathroom or something.”

“I should text my parents.”

“Yeah, probably.”

Jason pulled out his phone, trusting Percy to not run him into any walls as he typed out how he wasn’t feeling well and Percy had agreed to take him home.

It was chilly out without a jacket, but Percy draped his own that he had picked up in the entrance hall over Jason’s shoulders.

“I’m not a girl, Perce.”

Percy gave him a critical look as he led the way to his motorcycle. 

“That’s good. I only suck dudes’ dicks.”

“Why’d you do it at all?”

“I didn’t like that I left you hanging the first time.”

“And you couldn’t have waited until a better time?”

Percy laughed as he got on his bike, but didn’t respond. Jason shrugged on the jacket correctly, zipping it up, and climbed on behind Percy.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason hadn’t paid attention to where they were going. He’d spent the whole ride feeling bad about the jacket and trying to hold Percy as tightly as possible to lend him some warmth. That and maybe he kind of enjoyed feeling that toned chest and nice abs under his hands, warm to his touch even though protected only by a couple layers of shirts. He may or may not have also buried his nose too tightly into Percy’s neck, deeply inhaling the scent of the body wash Percy used. 

His eyes closed as he clung to Percy and pretended this was his real boyfriend. He didn’t notice the forest or the abandoned single lane road, illuminated only by the full moon, until Percy started to slow down.

“Perce, where are we?”

The motorcycle stopped and Percy cut the engine.

Percy didn’t say anything.

“Percy?”

Percy sighed and looked back at him.

“You wanna make out?”

Jason’s eyes dropped just as Percy’s did and he found himself looking at Percy’s lips.

“What?”

Percy kicked the stand out and stood, and Jason scrambled off, weary as he watched Percy throw a leg over and then sit back down in the seat, facing Jason.

“C’mere.”

Jason shuffled closer and Percy’s face bloomed into a grin. He reached a hand out and pushed a finger through Jason’s belt loop, reeling him in.

Unsure what to think, or why this was happening, Jason put his hands out, bracing against the handlebars and Percy’s shoulder, suddenly scared out of his mind.

“I don’t know how.”

Percy laughed again, and it was so soft and carefree. Jason found himself glancing between Percy’s soft lips and pretty eyes, over and over, unsure where to settle. The warm hand on the back of his neck was pulling him closer. Jason closed his eyes, arms relaxing even as his heart did flippy things in his chest.

He was going to regret this. 

He was in way too deep.

He didn’t want this to be some sort of weird amusement for Percy. He wanted Percy, the boy who asked him mom for help with his homework, the boy who had applied to half the same schools as Jason, the boy who made him laugh. But the boy who had condoms just in case, who did sexual things on impulse and without permission scared him. 

Percy’s lips touched his softly and Jason opened his eyes, not expecting the gentle way Percy’s mouth brushed against his. He pulled away, trying to search Percy’s eyes in the dark.

“You don’t want to?”

“I do. I think,” Jason replied, huffing a short laugh into Percy’s mouth, just barely making out the return smile.

Percy pulled him in again, and Jason let himself moan freely at the rough slide of slightly chapped lips melting into a slick kiss. He shivered as Percy’s hands slowly slipped across his hips and fingers spread out across his ass, digging in slightly.

Jason tried not to be too awkward, pulling back whenever he felt he did something wrong, but Percy only smiled and pulled him back in. Jason melted into him as the long moments of hazy pleasure drifted past until he found himself so into it that he couldn’t bring himself to care about how good or bad he was. Percy pulled him in tighter, and Jason became aware of how hard Percy was, his cock hot as it pressed against Jason’s thigh through the fabric of his pants.

Not sure what to do, Jason pretended he didn’t feel it at first. He let Percy turn his head and mouth down the side of Jason’s neck, teeth and tongue leaving behind a trail of saliva that made him shiver as it was exposed to the autumn night. He cried out and shook against Percy as that wonderful warm mouth latched on to where neck met shoulder and felt Percy’s cock twitch against him in return.

Curious, terrified, and really eager to please, Jason fumbled his hand to find the hard line of Percy’s dick between them and squeezed it a bit. Percy’s hips made a short thrust and the motorcycle creaked under them.

Suddenly short of breath, Jason squeezed again. Percy growled and bit at his neck. Mouth dry, Jason pulled away, trying to get some space between them so he could see what his hand was doing. Percy let him go, his hands hovering just over Jason’s hips, ready to draw him back in at any moment.

Jason watched as his fingers slid tightly against the fabric, stopping at the tip and pressing. The fabric felt humid under his touch and he looked up to see Percy’s eyes watching his face intently.

Jason bent his knees awkwardly, hands on Percy’s thighs as he tried to-

“Whoa- you don’t have to,” Percy said quickly, his hand reaching out to grab Jason’s elbow.

Jason hesitated, confused and feeling vulnerable, looking between Percy’s face and the bulge in his pants. Then he let his knees hit the dirt road.

He fumbled, hands shaking with nerves and excitement as he wrestled with the fabric. He thought he might suffocate his breath was so short and-

Percy’s hands squeezed his briefly as they moved his fingers aside and made short work of the button that was still refusing to pop out of the loop. Jason watched as the zipper was lowered and the fly was spread. Percy quickly shimmied a couple inches out of the pants and briefs, easily, casually, tucking the elastic under his balls.

Jason swallowed, his mouth now watering, but he wasn’t sure whether it was from the nausea of overwhelming anxiety or the excitement of smelling and seeing-  _ actually seeing _ \- Percy’s dick, large and hard and-

He reached out, letting his fingers stroke down the velvety skin to the balls, lightly pressing against the delicate wrinkles around the testicles. Percy exhaled a long, satisfied sigh above him, and Jason felt bold enough to reach out and wrap his fist around the base, squeezing a bit, enjoying the foreign sensation of touching someone else like this.

He looked up at Percy, who was watching him, his eyes almost impossible to discern at this angle. Percy didn’t do anything to hurry him, and Jason looked away, embarrassed to imagine how he must look, nervous and jumpy on his knees.

He kissed the tip and tried not to get too jerk away when Percy’s cock twitched. Closing his eyes, Jason carefully licked into the slit, imagining the way Percy’s tongue had toyed with his own dick only an hour ago. He tried not to dwell on the foreign taste, the very fact that he was tasting Percy’s precome and there was going to be more of it, and there was going to be come, and-

Jason flushed at the images of how sticky and dirty everything could get. Suddenly self-conscious about taking his time, he sucked the head in, letting himself focus on the texture of it as it slipped across his lips. 

Percy gently wound a hand into his hair, thumb stroking the top of his head. A long moan, and Jason imagined that Percy let his head roll back as he let it loose.

There was a slurp, the sound bright and loud against the silent backdrop of the forest, and anxiety flared hot across his neck, his lungs unable to get air. Jason pushed through it, desperate to prove himself. Deciding to throw himself into the blow job with full enthusiasm, he pushed down onto Percy, wanting to try sucking him all in.

It all went wrong.

Even before he realized that he was gagging, he heard Percy whimper, “Teeth!” and then he was coughing, reeling from the terrifying sensation of the head pressing against the back of his mouth.

_ What was he doing? _

What was he  _ thinking _ , blowing Percy Jackson in the middle of some abandoned dirt road?

Jason realized he was on his hands and knees now, and he gagged again just at the thought of trying again, the anxiety spiraling higher and higher the whole time. 

He didn’t realize he was hyperventilating until Percy was right behind him, rubbing his back in broad smooth motions. 

“Breathe, Jason. No, not like that. In… Out…” 

He forced his breath slower, wiping the tears in his eyes with the back of his hand. 

When his head cleared enough to look around, he turned to Percy.

“I’m sorry,” he said, suddenly remembering what he’d been doing before breaking down, and despite how ridiculous it felt to be sorry for panicking, he was.

Percy studied his face for a bit, then snorted, smiling a little.

“C’mon. No point staying out here all night.”

Jason watched him stand up, and his breath caught all over again when he noticed that Percy was still hard. 

“Sorry,” he said again when Percy started grumbling as he tried to stuff himself into his clothes and find a comfortable position. Percy raised an eyebrow at him, and then turned away for privacy, still grumbling about stupid dongs not getting with the program.

Finally satisfied, Percy stalked back over to his bike and threw a leg over, looking back at Jason, his voice annoyed as he called Jason over.

“You coming or what?”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

They snuck into Percy’s apartment quietly. Jason had been a little surprised when Percy didn’t take him home, but he chose not to say anything, still self-conscious and anxious about everything that had happened.

Percy pulled a pillow out of a linen closet on the way down the hall, and threw it onto his bed as they walked into his room.

“If you want, I’ve got shorts and sweats in that top drawer,” Percy said quietly as he walked over to turn on the table lamp and pointed across the room. “You can steal a shirt too. I’m gonna go, uh… take care of things.”

“Right,” said Jason and just narrowly avoided looking at Percy’s crotch to see if there was still a bulge there.

“Wait, Percy?” he called after Percy had already turned around and walked halfway out the door. Percy stopped, and he looked so incredibly handsome in the dim light, eyes dark and lips just a touch swollen, that Jason had to struggle to remember what he was going to say. “I’m sorry.”

Percy blinked and looked around a moment.

“It’s fine, dude. Go to bed,” he said and disappeared.

Jason looked around, unsure what to do with himself.

Finally, he started undressing, carefully folding and draping each piece of clothing over the back of Percy’s desk chair. He glanced at the bed, ready to just climb in and pass out, but ended up making his way to the dresser, ignoring the top drawer and looking for a tee. Finding a regular black one, he pulled it on and stumbled to the bed.

He climbed in, suddenly aware of every sense again. Percy’s sheets were silky, his mattress just a tad softer than Jason’s own back home. And the whole thing- Jason looked up and listened to make sure Percy wasn’t coming back, then pressed his face into Percy’s pillow-the whole thing smelled like Percy.

Embarrassed at enjoying Percy’s smell so much, Jason squeezed into the very edge of the bed, and, placing the pillow Percy had provided him under his head, lay down on his back. He doubted he’d be able to fall asleep like this, feeling stiff and uncomfortable about being in a foreign bed.  _ Percy’s  _ bed.

Percy still wasn’t back, and careful not to think about what he was doing that was taking so long, Jason thought instead about how awful he still felt about messing everything up.

He groaned, rolling to his side.

Percy was going to make fun of him forever, just as soon as he stopped being annoyed with him. He just wanted to be home so he could fall asleep easily and pretend tonight never happened.

Well, some parts were nice.

He wiped the smile off his face as soon as he realized it had taken over his face. He wasn’t allowed to think about how much he’d enjoyed making out. Not when he’d fucked up so spectacularly immediately after.

He muffled his next groan into the pillow.

How was he ever going to live that down?


	9. Sunday

Jason woke with a start, hyper conscious of an arm around his waist. Instead of being let go, however, he was pulled tighter against a warm bare chest. A kiss was pressed to his ear, and Percy’s voice slurred, “Morning.”

Still feeling jumpy, Jason turned to look at him.

“I forgot where I was.”

“Yeah, that happens,” Percy murmured, his lips pressing against Jason’s, hands working to turn Jason around in the bed.

Jason let him kiss him for a while, body losing tension now that the alarm was wearing off.

“Why are you doing this?” 

“Doing what?”

“Kissing me,” Jason clarified with some edge. “And also last night. And also last weekend.”

Percy’s content smile slipped a bit. The hand that had been stroking across Jason's back stilled and pulled away a fraction. Jason waited for a response, but it never came. 

“Percy, I want to know what this-” and he gestured wildly everywhere because the fact that he was in Percy's room at that moment was just as confusing as everything else, “ _ -is _ . I need to know.”

“Go out with me.”

“What-” 

“Be my boyfriend. For real,” Percy said quietly, his eyes staring at the pillow they shared. “Not, ‘Ha-ha, he’s my boyfriend, but we really only do homework together,’ but like actually…”

Percy curled in suddenly, his arm tightening around Jason, face hiding in Jason’s neck, legs coming up to tangle through Jason’s.

“I want you to be mine.”

Jason drew away, shocked and angry and desperate all at once.

“You’re not  _ serious? _ ”

And the next moment, Percy was climbing on top of him, even as Jason tried to roll away to escape. Jason found himself trapped on his back.

“I am absolutely serious.”

Jason squirmed as he tried to think how to verbalize what he was thinking.

“Why?”

“Why what?” and Percy was starting to look annoyed, but Jason was fairly certain he was the one that felt much more irritated at the moment.

“You can’t just  _ say  _ things like that- Are you messing with me? Why me?”

“Why am I messing with you or why do I like you- and wait, no, I’m not messing with you, what are you talking about?” Percy growled, sitting back in Jason’s lap.

“You’re always messing with me!”

“I messed with you like twice! To blow you! No one blows someone as a prank.”

“But-” Jason gestured wildly, pointing to himself, then to Percy then just shaking his hands, hoping to see understanding in Percy’s eyes, but Percy only raised an eyebrow, continuing to stare at him with something like aggressive blankness. Jason gave up and stilled his hands in the air, afraid to set them down, which would mean either touching Percy’s thighs or submissively resting them next to his head.

Percy resettled, and Jason tried to back away into the mattress as Percy’s face came dangerously close.

“Can I kiss you?”

Out of protests and head not functioning at full capacity, Jason nodded.

It was a sweet kiss, despite Jason’s stunned lack of participation. Percy pulled away for a breath, making intense eye contact that had Jason flushing all the way down his neck, and then pushed back in for a deeper kiss.

Jason closed his eyes and gave up on being confused and hesitant, pressing up into the kiss with a soft moan, wanting all the affection Percy had to offer, even if he wasn’t sure why it was being offered.

He forgot to open his eyes when Percy pulled away.

“Be my boyfriend,” came Percy’s voice, uncharacteristically small.

Blinking suddenly, Jason found worried green eyes watching him closely.

“Really?”

“Really.”

_ I should really think about this, _ was the most prominent thought that hit him at that moment, but all he said was-

“Okay.”

Percy surged in to kiss him again, and it was hard and it was passionate, and Jason noticed fuzzily that it was pretty sloppy. But it was also so completely perfect because Percy Jackson had just asked him to be his boyfriend and was so enthusiastic about the positive response that it made Jason’s heart ache.

So deep was he in his euphoria of  _ He likes me- he really really likes me _ that Jason didn’t even notice their hips moving together until he bucked up particularly hard and Percy responded with a moan. Jason locked his body out of nervousness, but the next roll of hips Percy made was deliberate and pressed tight against Jason, as if to draw him out. They locked eyes for a moment before Percy dove to the side to suck on Jason’s neck.

Jason moaned, his hips humping up to meet Percy’s gracelessly. Wet teeth traveled down his skin, leaving behind a trail of saliva that had Jason moaning.

“Percy!”

“Yeah, you like that, huh?”

Jason bit his lip but still moaned as another hickie was sucked viciously into the skin just above his collarbone. Vaguely registering the teasing, he swatted at Percy’s shoulder in retaliation. He did  _ not  _ need that right now.

He was suddenly aware of the creaking of the mattress and bed beneath them as Percy’s pace picked up, but he couldn’t even complain about it being too conspicuous because the friction that was building up was too strong and Jason could only cling to Percy and try to keep breathing, hoping to come out of this alive.

Percy’s fingers dug into his hips, pushing into the cheeks of his ass and sliding down, pushing Jason’s boxers off his-

“Wait!” Jason managed, pulling Percy’s face off his neck. “What are we doing?”

Percy panted, his hot breath rolling over Jason’s face. He looked confused.

“I was thinking maybe sex?”

Jason clamped his hands over Percy’s mouth as soon as he said it, the pleasured flush that had been tingling across his face and neck suddenly turning up to eleven.

“I’ve never done stuff, Percy! You can’t just- I won’t let you just- Just because we’re ‘official’ now,” and he pulled a hand away to make angry air quotes, “doesn’t mean you can just expect to- to- It won’t fit!”

Percy’s bright green eyes stared at him for a while, all wide and surprised. Then he started laughing into Jason’s hands. He reached up and gently moved Jason’s fingers away, still chuckling.

“So we agree then? You’re bottoming in this relationship?”

Jason gasped. He tried to think of some scathing retort to the teasing, but his jaw seemed locked in its open position as he gaped up at Percy and tried to find a way to back out of this one. Percy laughed again and leaned in, past Jason’s protesting and swatting hands, to kiss him on the cheek.

Jason was still stammering that he didn’t mean anything of the sort, but Percy pushed in to nuzzle against his ear and whispered hotly.

“I’ll enjoy thinking about fucking you a lot more now that there’s a real chance it might happen.”

Jason swatted at his shoulder.

“I mean it, we’re not doing anything like that any time soon!”

Percy’s hand that was still in his underwear squeezed tightly around his ass cheek.

“What about other things?” he murmured into Jason’s hair.

“What other things?”

“Naked things.”

Jason hesitated.  _ Like blowjobs? _ He was still pretty mortified at last night’s failure, but if Percy asked him to try again, he probably wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Maybe.”

A soft kiss pressed into his neck. And then Percy was pulling Jason’s boxers off the rest of the way. Jason sucked in a breath as Percy moved and brushed his stomach against Jason’s cock, leaving him making shallow thrusts up to find that heat again.

Percy’s mouth, now marking up this side of Jason’s neck to match the other, had Jason losing his mind again. He could only comply meekly as Percy got his underwear all the way off his feet and pushed Jason’s legs together.

The was a creak outside the room and Jason went silent, biting his lips. He hadn’t realized how much noise he was making until that moment. Suddenly hyperaware of his surroundings, he wondered if Percy would stop, but Percy pulled away only long enough to relocate his mouth and pressed their lips together in a searing kiss.

Jason tried not to but moaned anyway as Percy pushed his fingers into his hair, pulling tightly. Percy pulled even tighter and Jason helplessly responded with more noise. Never in any of his fantasies would he have guessed that he would like having his hair pulled, of all things.

There was a fumbling of fingers between his thighs and Jason pushed his legs closed tighter on reflex. Percy only snickered into the kiss and then-

Then Percy’s cock was pushing between his thighs.

Jason gasped.

“What are you doing?”

“You don’t like it?” Percy gasped out as he slowed down his shallow thrusting into longer, deeper rolls of his hips.

“No, I just-” Jason flailed as Percy pulled away far enough to make eye contact. “What do I do?”

He was rewarded with a free and happy laugh and a kiss on his nose.

“Keep your legs closed,” Percy replied with another nose kiss, “And touch yourself for me.”

Jason groaned. Percy’s low, rough voice should not be allowed to say things like that. Careful not to do any awkward flailing, his face burning under Percy’s intense gaze, he reached down and got a hand around himself between Percy’s thrusts, letting his fist make neat, slow strokes.

His eyes rolled back in his head as the realization hit him. He was naked with Percy. He was naked with Percy and Percy was fucking his thighs and he was having sex with Percy-

“Fuck-” came a growl from Percy and he leaned in to bite under Jason’s chin.

“You’re so pretty, Jason.”

Jason mewled at the compliment and the rough treatment of Percy’s teeth as the pace of their fucking picked up, loud lewd noises coming from below as Percy’s cock slipped through precome between Jason’s thighs.

“Jason?” Percy moaned between bites.

“Yeah?” he barely managed.

“You’re so perfect.”

Jason had to squeeze his eyes shut tighter at the embarrassment of hearing that. He wanted to protest, to tell Percy to stop being weird, but the next moment, Percy was moaning loudly into Jason’s neck, hips locked up and gyrating insistently against Jason as hot come spilled out between Jason’s thighs and slid down to the sheets under him.

Surprised, Jason jerked his head up to peer over Percy’s shoulder and got an eyeful of Percy’s perfectly pert ass rising and falling as Percy rode out his orgasm.

“Fuck,” he managed to mumble as he let his head fall back, squeezing himself tighter and stroking faster, letting a hand sneak around to grab a handful of that muscular ass.

He came with a shudder, his feet and toes curling as he rutted up, letting his cockhead rub against Percy’s now still and heavy body, feeling his come roll back down off of Percy’s abs.

He panted, sleepy and tired, trying to wrestle his hand out from between their sticky tummies.

Percy snickered, nuzzling against his collarbone.

“Happy unvirgining, Jason.”

Using up the last of his energy, Jason smacked him on the shoulder.


	10. Monday

Jason showed up in Ms. Athena’s classroom first thing Monday morning.

His parents had chewed him out rather thoroughly when he finally came home on Sunday wearing Percy’s clothes, his neck and jaw covered in hickeys and bitemarks. They apparently had contacted Ms. Athena and found out that his grade had slipped to an overall B+. But of course, with the amount of bruised skin Jason was sporting, the conversation had also veered into a lecture about safe sex from his mom, and a lecture about no sex from his dad. Jason, mortified, denied there being  _ any  _ sex.

If Ms. Athena noticed the hickies that were clearly visible even with the turtleneck Jason had managed to find that morning, she didn’t say anything, which was already a relief. Instead, Jason had a chance to finally discuss his awful test with her and get some pointers as to what to pay attention to in the coming units. She even gave him an extra credit assignment that Jason suspected was a little too easy, but he didn’t say anything, grateful that she was being lenient.

He noticed the stares. It was hard not to. No one said anything all day, which was, in a word,  _ incredible _ . But the stares were there. People would have had to be blind to not notice the way Percy had mauled him.

Jason himself was in a whole other world, however, the pain on his neck and chest a constant reminder.  _ I had sex. I had sex. I had sex. _ He wondered if the people who saw his hickies knew he’d had sex rather than a thorough makeout session. Whether they guessed that it was his first time. Whether they had their own suspicions about who it was with.

“Hey.”

Jason nearly banged his head on the top of his locker. He turned to see Percy, grinning and leaning against the locker next to him.

“Nice turtleneck,” Percy commented with a blatant once over. Then he leaned in and added in an undertone. “Nice hickies too.”

Jason elbowed him, trying not to grin as he sorted out the notebooks he had to take home.

“Shut up, Percy.”

“I was wondering…”

Jason glanced up at him. Then he did a doubletake when he registered Percy’s averted gaze and the soft red flush to his cheekbones.

“Wondering what?”

“If you’d want to go out to eat?”

Jason stared.

“Sure?”

“Like a first date kind of thing.”

“Oh… oh!” 

And then Jason started laughing. Because it really would be a first date. After everything that had happened,  _ now  _ they were having a first date. Percy’s eyes were uncertain as they looked back at him.

“I’d love to,” Jason said sincerely, and got a wide happy grin for it.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason couldn’t stop smiling the entire night as they did homework. Percy had taken him out on a date. A  _ real  _ date.

They’d gone out for sushi and talked about everything. Grades and parents, and when Jason faltered because his life didn’t really include anything else, Percy told Jason about his favorite books and shows so excitedly and in so much detail that Jason felt as if he’d consumed the stories straight from the source.

And now he was spacing out at his homework thinking about it, now and then switching it up and spacing out at the wild tangle of Percy’s hair. He only seemed capable of snapping out of his floaty thoughts when Percy called him out on it and reminded him,  _ again _ , that he needed to catch up on homework tonight or else he’d start getting zeroes.

He’d only just finished his Literature extra credit that he wanted to turn in tomorrow by the time Percy finished his work, watched some game streams, and got ready for bed. Jason shoved his stuff back in his backpack as he yawned, eager to get to bed early and wondering if Percy would kiss him before they fell asleep.

A kiss was dropped lightly on the top of his head, and he looked up.

“I left out a new toothbrush for you,” Percy murmured, his eyes twinkling. “Make sure you brush thoroughly before you climb in my bed and start smooching on me.”

Jason flushed at the teasing, watching Percy leisurely stroll to the bed and flop down.

“Right.”

He walked to the bathroom in a daze. How did this happen? How did he end up with a boyfriend that seemed so rough around the edges but was actually so sweet and thoughtful and-

Jason groaned.

Percy Jackson would take a lifetime to figure out.


	11. Tuesday

Jason was surprised to feel Percy’s body in his arms when he finally registered what exactly it was he was cuddling into, but he didn’t panic this time. He did jerk, however, when he woke up enough to realize he’d drooled onto Percy’s bare chest. He pulled up and swiped at it, hoping Percy wouldn’t wake-

“It’s fine.”

Jason looked up to find Percy already awake, and by the clarity in his eyes, it seemed he’d been awake for a while.

“Sorry.”

Percy shrugged lazily, tightening his arm around Jason’s waist until Jason had no choice but to draw closer.

“I know a way you can make it up to me,” Percy murmured and closed his eyes, lifting his brows expectantly.

Jason gave him a peck, charmed and amused by the easy request. 

“Just that?” he asked. 

“Mmm…” Percy pursed his lips to the side and looked like he was thinking hard. Jason, however, could feel the mischievous fingers slip inside the elastic of his boxers and start tugging down. “Maybe a bit more than that.”

Jason giggled, feeling like he sounded like an idiot and yet unable to stop himself. Percy had wrestled his boxers down to his thighs and was groping at his ass. Hard kisses and bites trailed up and down his neck, insistent on leaving a colorful display.

He wasn't sure about this. Well, he was sure he wanted to fool around, but he wasn’t sure what that would mean in this instance. Last time it had been easy enough, but maybe that wasn’t enough for Percy. As the fingers groping him edged closer to the cleft of his ass, Jason forced himself to speak up, treacherous tears burning hot in his eyes and threatening to make him out as a crybaby all over again.

“Um, Percy, I-”

“Can I finger you?”

Percy had lifted his head to say it,  _ breathe it,  _ hotly into his mouth, and Jason’s mind froze. 

Could Percy finger him? Did he- did he want to be fingered? He couldn’t make a sound as he tried to imagine how it would feel. Invasive? Painful? Gross? Would it be worth it? Would it be enjoyable? Would Percy be gentle?

“Alright,” he whispered and shut his eyes, his blush so heavy he felt he couldn’t bear to keep them open. Percy leaned away, and Jason took the extra personal space to breathe. “You’ll be gentle?” he added, unable to resist, feeling horrible for it. Percy knew what he was doing. And he probably knew how to do it right, and maybe there was no way to be gentle about sticking your finger inside someone.

Percy’s lips brushed dryly against his as he rolled them over.

“Of course.” 

And then soft thumbs brushed away the tears that had pushed out past his eyelashes.

“You’ll like this.”

Jason wasn’t convinced.

He opened his eyes when Percy sat up between his legs, and as his boyfriend pulled his legs into the air to take his boxers off the rest of the way, Jason wondered if he was watching how tight Jason was clenching. As soon as his feet were free, he lowered them down in a vicious movement to plant them firmly on the bed.

“Babe. You have to spread your legs for me.”

Jason shook his head.

“No?”

Jason shook his head again.

Percy sighed and set aside the lube, a smile spreading.

“Fine. I guess I’ll just have to work them open.”

And then he was licking the inside of Jason’s knees, as deep as he could get between the tightly locked limbs. Jason moaned, surprised by the intimacy. Then there were bites and sucks, and before Jason realized, they had travelled from the knee to the inside of his thigh and Percy’s head was between his spread legs.

He threw out a hand, grabbing Percy’s bangs, as a slick, cold finger brushed into his asscrack. 

He tried to close his legs back up around Percy’s head, but it was too late, the finger pressing firmly against his asshole. 

“Percy!”

Percy grinned and sucked one of his testicles carefully into his mouth, licking it over and pulling gently with soft lips. The finger started to push into him, and Jason squealed.

“Percy!”

He meant to say that no, Percy wasn’t allowed to do this, but the words would leave his throat, the pleasant vibrations of Percy’s humming around him fuzzing up his head. The finger pushed in further, the tip breaching the very rim and Jason squealed again through tightly clamped lips. It felt so weird. It felt hot and sensitive and totally not what he was hoping for with his first few experiences in bed. Why couldn’t they just stick to hand jobs? 

Percy let Jason’s testicle slip out of his mouth and licked his lips.

“You’re gonna have to relax that muscle there. At least, if you still want it gentle.”

Jason had supposedly known what he was signing up for, going out with Percy. That didn’t make the teasing any less embarrassing, and he moaned at the imagery of being forced to take Percy’s finger. He didn’t realize that his head had dropped back and he loosened his defense until Percy cooed, “Good job,” and pushed back in, his finger registering cold again.

Jason clamped up once more, gasping at the temperature, his rim fluttering around the intrusion as he tried to get a feel for the size and shape of it.

“You’re fine. This is deep enough.”

Jason didn’t get to ask what it was deep enough for because the next moment, there was an insistent stroke inside him and he locked up in surprise.

Percy stroked again, firmer, and Jason let go of his hair to anxiously dig his fingers into the bed. It felt strange. It felt good. He tried not to evaluate it past that.

Percy kept his finger moving and Jason found himself sitting up, curious and hot and bothered by the sensations. Percy had sat up too and now leaned in to kiss Jason, his free hand making a fist around Jason’s cock and stroking. Jason hummed into the kiss, unbalanced and turned on, and not sure how to communicate that. He moaned softly as Percy’s finger made tighter circles inside him, pressing harder.

Reaching out, he wrapped his fingers around Percy’s on his cock and forced the strokes to come faster, tighter. Vaguely, he registered that Percy was slipping another finger inside him, but it only served to excite him more. The kiss turned sloppier as his mind shut down, only aware of the pleasure between his legs. Then he pulled away, the wave of orgasm hitting him suddenly and too much to even process as pleasure at first. He met Percy’s amused gaze for a second, and then his eyes rolled back as his abs tensed and he spilled come, over their hands, over his stomach, and on his chin. 

Thoroughly wiped out, he fell back against the pillow behind him and tried to catch his breath, only opening his eyes when he felt Percy’s come join his on his skin a while later. He let his mind drift as Percy settled in against him, pressing kisses to his shoulder. 

“You look amazing when you come.”

Jason cracked an eye open to level Percy with a critical look.

“I mean it. It’s like this… look of wonder. Like you can’t believe your eyes, and because you’re looking at me, I get all warm and fuzzy. And then you’re just gone. Like you are out of it entirely when you come.”

Jason hummed.

He didn’t know what Percy looked like during orgasm and he felt guilty about it. Next time he would pay attention.

“Good night, babe.”

“It’s morning, Percy.”

“You look ready to sleep another few hours.”

“We have school.”

“We can skip.”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“I’m serious, Jason, we really don’t have to be here.”

“Maybe  _ you’re  _ used to skipping, but I’m really not. So no. And I have to turn in my assignments.”

Despite his insisting that they be good students today, Jason wanted really badly to take Percy’s advice. That orgasm had been incredible, but getting up out of bed after was rough. All he wanted was a nap. And for his ass to not feel weird.

Because it did. The foreign play down there had left him feeling out of sorts, like something was uncomfortable and off. He tried to keep a brave face, but with the way Percy’s lips kept twitching, he suspected his motions gave him away.

“I thought you were being a rebel now.”

“I still want to get into a good school.”

“And being in class today is the only way that’s gonna happen?”

“No, but getting a zero on these assignments definitely will hurt my chances,” he explained as he held the side entrance door open for His Boyfriend.

“Then just turn them in and let’s go.”

“Percy, I’m not skipping class to go take a nap. I’d rather get in trouble for sleeping in class.”

“Would you skip class for a date?”

Jason’s shoe squeaked against the floor as he involuntarily slowed down and looked at Percy.

“A date?”

“Yeah. You, me. We swing by the main office, shove our homework into the teachers’ mailboxes, all sorted all neat, and then we walk right back out, swing by Wegman’s, get some fancy lunch items, pick up a blanket from my place, and go have a picnic. Easy peasy date. And you can tell me all about which college essays you’re most worried about. And what you imagine higher education will be like. And I’ll get to sit there and listen to your smooth voice and your easy logic.”

Jason had stopped. How Percy could be so casual and so romantic and so validating all at once, he couldn’t understand. 

But he was not going to pass up on this date.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

They sipped Izze from glass bottles as they ate their lunch of sushi and fancy salad and gourmet sandwiches. There was some super fancy dessert too: a mini opera cake, macarons, and a pistachio-pear tart, a little squashed after the motorcycle ride, but still impressive looking.

All in all, for a picnic, it was very ritzy.

Which only had made Jason even more giddy about how happy he was to be here, on this date, with this ridiculously gorgeous boy, who seemed to be happily listening to his ideal college experience.

He couldn’t remember the last time he could talk about himself and his thoughts at such length and it having nothing to do with his assignments or upcoming tests. In all honesty, Jason had started to suspect that there was nothing  _ to  _ him besides his schoolwork. He worried that he would never be as exciting as Percy, and that he’d always have to be the one doing the listening to avoid boring his wild and adventurous boyfriend.

And yet, here he was. Sure, college was technically still school, but Jason was letting his imagination fly wild. He’d cover his walls in posters of everything we heard and saw and liked. He’d go to every local concert and get a poster just so he could try everything. While staying up late to study, he’d try everything on the Starbucks menu so that he could argue about the best kind of espresso drink. He’d ask his professors about their favorite books and read them during holidays so that he would be well rounded and well read and be able to talk about books. And Percy listened to all of that mundane wishful thinking, nodding and laughing.

When Percy finally interrupted him, it was only to say that he hoped that Jason would still have time for him during his rich and intense college life.

“You know, we could apply to all the same schools. Just to make sure. And try to get placed as roommates.”

Percy’s teasing expression faded and he put down the sushi he’d been about to throw in his mouth.

“Jason… I have very specific schools I want to get into.”

Jason shrugged.

“And I don’t. I don’t know what I want. I want to find out.”

“So…” and that sweet hesitation returned to Percy’s voice and wrinkled the skin between his brows. “You’re saying you want to follow me?”

He hoped he wasn’t jumping the gun.

“If you don’t mind…”

Percy stared for a moment longer, then laughed, pressing in for a kiss.

“No. No, I definitely don’t mind, and nothing would make me happier.”


	12. BONUS

“Jason, you’ll be fine.”

“Percy, wait.”

“It’s just the tip.”

“No, wait.”

“I just want to feel your hot rim on the very tip. Want to touch you in the most intimate way possible, babe.”

Jason buried his face in the pillow.

“That’s the issue, it’s so inti-”

The leaking head was swiped across his hole and he gasped, looking over his shoulder.

“Percy!”

Percy grinned and kissed his cheek.

“Please?”

Jason couldn’t believe he was giving in again. He never ended up regretting it, but…

“Fine. But don’t push in further!”

Percy kissed him again, then looked away, as he reached down to grab himself.

Jason gasped, high and breathy as Percy’s cock was pressed firmly against his rim, he held the pillow bunched in his arms tighter, biting into it to subdue a moan as the tip was pressed into him just a smidgen. 

“Fuck. I want to come like this, Jason. My come dribbling off of your asshole and down your balls and your thighs.” Percy bit his shoulder, “Will you let me jerk off like this?”

“Yeah,” was all Jason could mewl, spreading his knees, already half convinced to let Percy fuck him. He was so curious. So so curious. Percy’s head felt so good the way it was pressed against him, pushing in slightly as Percy jerked himself off. And Jason was so ready to stop being a virgin in every way and know that he was everything that Percy needed. But the fear of pain, fear of heartbreak if this all went sideways, held him back from saying anything. They’d been together for two solid months now and it still didn’t feel real that his boyfriend loved him as much as he said he did. That anyone could love him like that. That their high school romance could last into college.

He was jerked out of his thoughts by a great deal of pressure and fingers digging into his hipbones.

“Percy!”

“You said the tip was fine!”

“I thought you already stop- Percy!” 

That  _ couldn’t  _ be just the tip. He whipped around trying to get a better view but was unable to see anything. As Percy pushed in further, Jason couldn’t help the way his body went limp. He moaned, long and loud.

“I- I’m not ready-”

“I’ve been fingerbanging you with like half my hand for a month now. You’re perfectly ready.” 

“Percy-”

But Percy was already rolling his hips, and Jason’s prostate was alight from their earlier play. He was arching his hips up for more before he realized it.

“Percy, please.”

There was the light sound of Percy snickering above and then he was getting fucked deeper, the thrusts longer and driving Jason wild. He cursed under his breath.

“Jason, we’re hom-”

Jason went rock still at the sound of his mom’s voice, Percy freezing inside him. They both stared at the door, where Jason’s parents stood with their mouths open and their eyes wide in horror.

_ “You’re letting that fucking delinquent fuck yo-” _

Jason’s mom hurriedly turned, smacked her hands over her husband’s mouth, and steered him away, somehow managing to shut the door behind them.

They remained still, as Jason wondered if he was still alive or already dead and dearly departed to heaven from sheer embarrassment.

“So…” Percy began, and Jason knew nothing good was to follow. “Do you think they’re convinced we’re dating?”


End file.
